At the Unitarian Universalist Church, 121 Bucksport Rd., Ellsworth and via Zoom

HCDC will host a moderated forum to address the threats that our healthcare system faces in light of the federal budget cuts, recent closures, and financial pressures. This forum is an opportunity to learn about and discuss these challenges and what can be done.

Panelists include:

• Doug Jones, former President and CEO of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital and Downeast Hospital in Machias

• David Jolly, Vice-Chair of Maine AllCare

• Bruce Becque, RN and former Chief Steward of MSNA Local #188 at Maine Coast Hospital.

This forum is sponsored by The Hancock County Democrats and friends. All are invited to attend.

Pre-registration required for Zoom attendance by noon the day before the meeting. You will receive a unique link you will need to use to join the meeting.

Register for Zoom

A discussion about housing in our working waterfront communities.

At the Deer Isle Town Office.

Best-selling Maine-based author Colin Woodard will be speaking at this year’s Word literary arts festival in Blue Hill, appearing October 25 at the Blue Hill Congregational Church, according to organizers.

Woodard, who has a summer home in Stonington and lives in the greater Portland area, has written six books, including the best-selling “Lobster Coast.”  His newest book, “Nations Apart,” will be released in November, and makes the case that “the United States and its democracy are on the verge of collapse.” 

Woodard worked previously as a state and national affairs writer for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram and has received a George Polk Award for outstanding investigative journalism. He was named Maine Journalist of the Year in 2014, and was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting. He is currently a contributing writer with Politico.

Woodard will be joined at the festival by another former Maine reporter, Alicia Anstead, who is currently an instructor in the journalism and writing programs at Harvard University Extension School. Anstead is a director of Downeast Speaks, an annual community storytelling event with ISLE Theater Company in Deer Isle. As an arts reporter at the Bangor Daily News she won numerous awards for her writing. 

Woodard and Anstead will focus on America’s regional divides, a theme Woodard explored in his book “American Nations.” 

The preliminary schedule for the 2025 Word festival is now available online at www.wordfestival.org